Can I use a USB 2.0 external HDD as a bootable clone?

Hi all -
That's the question really, apologies if it's been asked numerous time before, I couldn't find a straight answer when I searched. I currently have 2 Firewire externals. One is for Time Machine, the other is a bootable clone. However the bootable clone is too small for my current iMac's internal HDD. Can I use a USB 2.0 instead or does it have to be Firewire? And would it need its own power supply, or could it be USB powered?
Thanks

No prob, Thanks for the star.
Your better off starting a new thread for a new question as it will have a different title and more people may be able to help.
A quick search in amazon brought up this:
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-500GB-Scorpio-Laptop/dp/B001JSSDGU/ref=sr12?ie=UTF8&qid=1232579874&sr=8-2
you will need to get an external case for it. It may need two usb ports or may not, I'm not to sure. It may work at a slower peed with one and max speed with two. A good google search is an excellent way of finding answers.
Regards

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You may be going on a recollection, that I share, that at one time Apple stated this would be possible:
In fact, Apple’s Time Machine Web page touted this very capability as recently as last Tuesday, as you can see from Google’s October 16 cache of the page
Effortless meets wireless. With a hard disk connected to your AirPort Extreme Base Station, all the Macs in your house can use Time Machine to back up wirelessly. Simply select your AirPort Disk as the backup disk for each computer and the whole family can enjoy the benefits of Time Machine.
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I bought a Seagate 500GB 7200RPM and bought an external case from Staples that has a big fancy led to show HD activity. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
Tested it on my PC and it works all the time so it got me stumped. Thought it was my MB.
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Can I use a USB 2.0 external HDD as a bootable clone?

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